No More Lonely

In February, I went to LTUE, which is a writer’s conference for science fiction and fantasy writers. It’s an amazing conference, but the best part is the human interaction.

For some reason, a lot of people think that writing needs to be a lonely thing. Sure, I have to sit and write the words on my own, but that doesn’t mean I don’t interact with others.

Last year, when I went to LTUE, my writing partner and I were planning on going together, and we had someone ask if she could go with us. We ended up bonding through the experience, and now all three of us get together to write as often as we can.

This year, we had two of our friends from our writing group going, and they had a mutual friend who asked if she could join us. The best part about being with other writers at a conference is that you can be yourself. You can talk about the stuff that makes other peoples’ eyes gloss over. Plot and story structure? There’s actual classes on that. You can analyze your own with your friends and work out the kinks in your own story.

Writing is a private thing, and you always put a little bit of yourself in your writing, no matter what it is. When you share your writing with someone, you’re sharing a part of yourself. The other great thing is that they’re a natural support group. They know what you’re going through. Writing queries? Pitching to an agent? They know how nerve-wrecking that is. Finally figuring out your villain’s motivation? They know what kind of a breakthrough that can be.

I love my writing friends, the ones I’ve had for years, and the ones I’ve made recently. And I know that each one of them has influenced the kind of writer I am now.

Why I Need Writing Partners

Two months ago, I made a deal with my writing partners. We were all at LTUE, and after hearing different conversations about the importance of writing groups and writing partners, we realized we needed to do more. As we were driving home, we made a deal with one another. We all set a realistic goal to finish by April 1^st, the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo.

After that, we met twice a week to write and work on our goals.

Now I’ve never really had writing partners like this. I’ve had beta readers, and I love them to death, but this is totally different. These are people who know me, my writing style, and my story intimately. I can ask them advice on literally anything in the writing process, and I hope they feel the same way with me. I can’t even count the number of roadblocks they’ve helped me get through.

Plus, it’s fun to have someone who understands my crazy brain.

A few weeks ago, I got a random text from one of my writing partners. She knows how much I love fairy tale retellings, and all she wrote was: What if Cinderella is a code name for an arsonist? That one question led to an hour-long discussion on a possible story from that idea.

A few nights ago, as I was mulling over a story idea, I found a shoe brand called the Golden Goose, which was exactly what the story needed. I was so excited, I immediately wrote both of my writing partners and we started talking about story ideas again.

So how did I do on my goal? I was enthused, and excited to work on my rewrite. I added a whole lot of stuff, and I ended up increasing the word count from 75,000 to 111,000. I was kind of shocked by how much I was able to accomplish, and I finished before my April 1 deadline. 

Final word count on 3/26

I’ve got to say, having writing partners makes the whole process much more fun, and definitely more enjoyable!

Finding My People

Last month, I attended a conference for writers called LTUE: Life the Universe and Everything. It’s a very well-attended symposium for writers of all stages.

I’m not a social persona, and large groups of people terrify me. So the first day, I stayed with my friends, listened to panelists, and most importantly, I didn’t talk to strangers! Day two, I slowly started stepping out of my bubble, but it was painful and terrifying.

At LTUE

Day three, I had a breakthrough.

I went to a panel all on my own, and I sat next to a complete stranger. After some serious inner debating, I decided to start a conversation.

I asked her where she was from. Something simple and nonthreatening. After we chatted a little bit, I took a breath and asked her what she writes. When she told me, I found I was genuinely interested, and we talked about it for a while before she asked what I write.

From there, the conversation became natural, and I didn’t even have to think of what to say. In fact, the conversation was so interesting, the guy on the other side of me joined in. When we started debating plotting vs. pantsing (outlining or writing ‘by the seat of your pants’), two people in front of us turned around to participate.

When the panel started, and we all sat back in our seats, the realization hit me.

These are my people.

When I started to talk about writing, their eyes didn’t glaze over. They didn’t give the timid ‘uh-huh’ while they waited for me to stop talking so they could run away. These people actually cared about what I was saying, and they understood what I was talking about.

When I got home, I excitedly told my husband all about it, asking, “Why didn’t anyone tell me it was that easy?”

I’ve gone my whole life terrified of speaking to strangers. Of being boring. But it’s not as hard as it looks. All I have to do is say something. Then say something else.

That simple.